San Juan Attractions

Museo del Niño (Children's Museum)

San Juan's Museo del Nino (Children's Museum) is housed in a
gorgeous 300-year-old building directly across from the city's
cathedral. Started at the turn of the 21st century by a group of
sociologists and student volunteers, the Children's Museum provides
a hands-on learning environment for kids that features a lot of
interaction, if not a great amount of high-tech gadgetry and visual
stimulation. The exhibitions at San Juan's Children's Museum are
educative rather than all-out fun, teaching young ones about the
benefits of brushing their teeth, recycling, and caring properly
for their pets. In fact, the great attraction of the museum is not
its range of exhibition material, but the energy and dedication of
those who work there. The museum's staff - largely comprised of
student volunteers - will usually play with visiting children
either one-on-one or in small groups, providing a much-needed way
to burn off some pent-up energy.

Old San Juan

This area, encompassing about seven blocks, dates back about 500
years to the Spanish occupation when it served as a military
stronghold that even withstood Sir Francis Drake's armies. The
original cobbles on the streets are blue-tinged, and were
originally used as ballast on Spanish ships. The ancient stones set
off the more than 400 restored 16th- and 17th-century Spanish
colonial buildings that fill Old San Juan and draw thousands of
tourists to walk the narrow, steep streets every day. The old town
is enclosed in amazingly thick, high walls and features numerous
attractive plazas bearing sculptures and memorials.

Fort San Felipe del Morro

The mighty six-level fortress of San Felipe del Morro, built in
1540, towers 140 feet (43m) above the sea on San Juan Bay, its
18-foot thick (5m) walls having proved a worthy defence against
invasion. The largest fortification in the Caribbean, it is a maze
of tunnels, dungeons, barracks, lookouts and ramps, offering
spectacular views from atop its ramparts. Also in Norzagaray
Street, Old San Juan, is El Morro's partner in defending the city,
Castillo San Cristobal, built in the 17th century to a confusing
and intricate modular design.

La Fortaleza

The Fortaleza was built in 1540 as a fortress to guard the
entrance to the San Juan harbour, but later became the official
Governor's residence. During succeeding centuries the original
structure has been remodelled and expanded, with a neoclassical
façade being added in 1846 to leave the building with its
palatial aspect. The current governor of Puerto Rico is in
residence - the 170th Governor to live in the Fortaleza.

Saint John the Baptist Cathedral

San Juan's Cathedral was originally built in 1521 by Puerto
Rico's first Spanish bishop as a thatched wooden church, but was
destroyed in a hurricane in 1526. The current medieval structure,
built from stone brought in from inland quarries by horses, dates
from 1540, although extensive renovations and reconstructions were
carried out in 1917. The cathedral features Doric columns and
elliptical vaults, and contains the marble tomb of the island's
first governor.

La Casa Blanca

The family of Puerto Rico's first governor, Ponce de Leon, built
the historic homestead of Casa Blanca in 1523 and then went on to
inhabit it for 250 years. It was subsequently taken over by the
Spanish and then the United States military. Today, the mansion
house contains two museums. A small section is dedicated to
artefacts associated with the Taino Indians, while the rest of the
house depicts the life of those who lived there through the 16th,
17th and 18th centuries.

Casa del Libro

The 18th-century mansion known as Casa del Libro houses a vast
collection of rare sketches, illustrations, ancient manuscripts and
books, some dating from before the 16th century. The museum's most
prized possessions are two royal mandates signed by Ferdinand and
Isabella of Spain in 1493 regarding the provisioning of Christopher
Columbus's fleet for his second voyage to the New World. This was
the voyage during which Puerto Rico was discovered.

University of Puerto Rico Campus

The University of Puerto Rico campus in the Rio Piedras offers
several attractions for visitors and non-students. The Museum of
History, Anthropology and Art contains archaeological and
historical exhibits and holds monthly art exhibitions, and the Art
Museum Dr. Pío López Martínez de Cayey has a
large collection of Puerto Rican silkscreen posters. The Botanical
Gardens in the grounds of the University are a living laboratory,
displaying the native flora of Puerto Rico, and containing more
than 200 species of tropical and sub-tropical plants as well many
sculptures from artists such as Leopoldo Maler, Carlos Guzman and
Rolando López Dirube.

Museo de Arte

Puerto Rico's showcase art gallery opened just a few years ago
at a cost of millions of dollars. The gallery is housed in a former
city hospital in Santurce and offers a permanent and visiting
exhibition. The aim is to highlight the island's heritage through
the work of local artists, such as Francisco Oller, who studied in
France with Cézanne, and Jose Campeche, a late-18th century
Classical painter. The museum has been described as a 'living
textbook of Puerto Rico', providing on overview of centuries of the
island's history through the medium of art.

Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory

America's ears and eyes are focused on the stars from the island
of Puerto Rico. In the northwest mountains of the island, about 90
minutes drive west of San Juan, among the Karst Country hills, is
one of the most important astronomical research facilities on
earth, the Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory. Its massive dish is
larger in area than a dozen football fields and is sited in a
sinkhole, aimed at the heavens and tuned to detect the slightest
sounds emitted from the farthest stars. This is the home base for
NASA's 'SETI' (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) project,
and as such holds great fascination for visitors. A Visitors Centre
is equipped with interactive exhibits to demonstrate how the huge
structure works. Visitors can hike to the viewing platform to view
the vast tiled dish.

Luis Muñoz Rivera Park

Named in honour of Puerto Rican statesman Luis Muñoz
Rivera, and featuring plenty of wide open space, picnic areas,
walkways and even a small children's playground, the Luis
Muñoz Rivera Park is the perfect place to take the kids for
a day of fun in the sun, especially those who have been cooped up
on board a cruise ship. Pack a picnic or simply enjoy the fresh air
and scenery along the tree-lined paths, decorated artistically with
mosaics.

Camuy River Cave Park

Children will feel like they are in an Indiana Jones movie when
they visit the magnificent (Camuy River Cave Park), a large network of natural
limestone caves and waterways which can be explored by trolley. The
caverns and underground tunnels were created over a million years
ago by the tropical (Camuy River), which is
the third longest underground river in the world and is home to a
unique species of fish that is totally blind. Only three
crater-like sink holes and two caves are open to the public, which
are reached by a guided trolley that descends into a sinkhole lined
with dense tropical vegetation. Kids will love the spacious grounds
of the park, which include a cafeteria, picnic area, gift shop,
walking trails, exhibition hall, and theatre. One of the country's
most talked-about tourist attractions, the Camuy River Cave Park is
an excellent addition to any Puerto Rico holiday itinerary.

Casa Bacardi Visitor Centre

Undoubtedly one of the top tourist attractions in Puerto Rico, a
trip to the Casa Bacardi Visitor Centre is a must for travellers to
San Juan. Following their exile from Cuba in the 1950s, the Bacardi
family moved to Puerto Rico and set up a small rum distillery on
the outskirts of San Juan. Today, that small distillery has grown
into the largest in the world - producing a jaw-dropping 100,000
gallons of rum per day, and 21 million cases per year. Tours of the
Casa Bacardi Visitor Centre last about an hour, as visitors are
shown around a variety of exhibits (including vintage rum stills)
and informed about the history of Bacardi rum (including a short
movie). The tour culminates in a visit to an on-site,
classically-styled bar, where a bartender will show you the
'proper' methods of preparing Cuba libres and mojitos. The best
part? All visitors receive two complimentary drink tickets, which
they can cash in on ice-cold Bacardi-based drinks. There is also a
gift shop located on the premises, a perfect place to pick up some
rum or Bacardi apparel for friends back home.

Isla Verde

Isla Verde ('Green Island') is San Juan's hippest area, and home
to many of its best beach resorts and upmarket hotels. The area's
name is inspired by the colour of the water in its bay: a rich,
green-turquoise shade that will prove irresistible to swimmers and
divers. While the beautiful crescent-shaped beach - with its soft
sand and tall palm trees - is a tourist attraction in its own
right, most visitors to Puerto Rico will seek out Isla Verde for
its excellent beach resorts, plush hotels, international dining
options, world-class spa treatment facilities and vibrant
nightlife. Isla Verde is home to two of the island's best casino
hotels and a wide range of raucous night clubs and bars, where live
local music is often staged. A natural base for well-heeled
travellers to San Juan, Isla Verde makes for a luxurious home away
from home during your holiday in Puerto Rico. A fantastic winter
sun vacation destination, Isla Verde sees most of its tourist
activity between December and January, when days are warm and sunny
and there is no threat of hurricanes or storms.